David Bowie and Performativity - Research Paper Example

David Bowie and Performativity Performativity is a term that resonates with an who goes by the Judith Butler. She coined the name in her attempt at illustrating the reasoning behind the emergence of gender. According to Judith Butler, performativity is people’s daily behavior, which establishes a routine that ends up creating and defining gender. In Butler’s view, performativity is a gradual and continued process of discursive production while performance is self-presentation in a given way. This paper aims to analyze a song by David Bowie using Butler’s theory of gender performance. The essay aims at developing an argument referring to David Bowie’s song titled “Rebel, Rebel” from his album Diamond Dogs. The argument is going to be based on how the song represents gender, sexuality and identity. It is also going to analyze how Bowie challenges narratives of authentic identity. Bowie’s ways of troubling gender and sexuality as stable, readable, and expressive categories are also going to be addressed. According to Butler, gender is not based on a stable identity but an identity that is constitutively created through time and molded through repetition (Leonard 134). This repetition of deeds has a set of meanings that are already established in society. Gender reality is a product of performativity, which means that its degree of realness is measured by the extent of the performance. In this context, some acts are interpreted as an expression of gender identity. These acts can either conform to the expected cultural norms or contradict these norms. The song “Rebel, Rebel” by David Bowie is about a boy who went against his parent’s wishes and started wearing girl’s clothes and make up. Additionally, in the same album, there is a song titled “Walk on the Wild Side” about a transvestite. The song “Rebel, Rebel” addresses the notion of a boy who feels like a girl and proceeds to imitate girls like mannerisms of wearing girl’s clothing and make up. The lyrics in the song are put in a combative mood, yet the delivery of context and underlying meaning is done in a smooth and subtle way. The context of this song embraces gender bending by encouraging rebellion and contesting the accepted societal norms regarding gender. In all the live stage performances of this song, Bowie is dressed in outrageous feminine clothes. This aspect of staging artistic shows where the established distinction between genders was overlooked led to the emergence of Glam. Glam is a controversial stage performance and presentation of artistry that incorporates gender-bending techniques (Leonard 150). It also included the depiction of drag queens and personalities in different levels of conveying the underlying undertones in their performances. Bowie appearing in drag as Ziggy Stardust portrays this in the song. The song “Rebel, Rebel” conveys the notion that gender is not a static phenomenon as exhibited by the glam and drag modes of staging live artistic shows. The song tries to establish the fact that gender is a state that is achieved through change in behavioral mannerisms rather than a static set inbuilt qualities. According to Judith Butler, gender is an achievable state that is acquired through practice and repetition. Unlike common belief that a person is born into a specified and predetermined gender dictated by their biological sex, gender is perceived as a cultural dictate. This means that at one point in time, the human society decided to assign status to people. There was no other better way to do this than create a distinction between male and female roles. This spawned what is today referred to as gender. The society then designed roles that were assigned specific acts or behavior patterns that acted as a measure of gender. The song by Bowie seeks to depict gender as something that is not tangible but an idea that is held by people. Through repetition, as described by Butler, the notion of gender is realised through performativity. This is in the context that these acts become recognised as the benchmarks of a certain gender assignment. Sexuality in the song “Rebel, Rebel” is portrayed as a choice that an individual has to make rather than something that is inborn. Butler’s argument states that acts of lesbianism are just the desires to exhibit masculinity by females further complementing the intended message in Bowie’s song. In the rendition of the song, Bowies presents himself as the character of Ziggy Stardust, a larger than life personality who is a rock-and-roll superstar. Ziggy is also of a supernatural descent, being half-human and half alien, not entirely male or female and neither straight nor gay. This is an illustration through this character of the possibilities, in relation to sexuality that is presented by Ziggy. This character can orient himself with any sexual preference he desires or sees befitting because he is neither gay nor straight. According to the song, which is performed by Ziggy, sexuality is a matter of choice and desired preference and comfort. As Ziggy is neither a female nor a male, this leaves the listener to postulate the gender to which this character belongs. The song conveys that the notion of gender is an idea rather than an actual condition that exists; instead, it is a designed way of availing privilege aimed at achieving control. Bowie challenges narratives, of authentic identity especially, when he personifies Ziggy Stardust in drag as a gesture towards what he intends to portray instability of gender categories. In essence, Ziggy as the character represents an allusion to cultural norms that disrupt these categories rather than affirm them. The embodiment of Ziggy, Bowie, disrupts the authenticity of gender identity by showing that there is an authentic identity apart from that which a person creates for self (Leonard 84). The way that Bowie uses the Ziggy character on stage exemplifies the way that expressive categories are relied on to read into sexuality. A good example of how expression through acts and performances can be used to convey sexual categories is through Bowie’s interaction with members of his set on stage. The drag characterization of Bowie’s performance of the song is a clear indication of his inclination to address societal attitudes that are not met by the immediate community. Issues of sexual orientation and gender at the time the song was written were alienating to most people in the society, so his song worked to bring reality to attention. Ziggy’s sexual ambiguity and status provides a forum through which people can renegotiate acceptable social attitudes and behaviors. The addicts on flying saucers represent people who are confused by the old notions of gender assignments that are represented by aliens. These aliens seem to end the confusion of these addicts when the addicts discover that the aliens are transsexuals. This shows that sexuality is not a stable readable category, but one that can be interpreted to be a matter of choice. Performativity can be applied politically in advancing the interests of feminism because it gives credence to their activism. Gender and sexuality is a notion that according to the subject of this paper is a condition that is cultivated and can be applied in other disciplines like psychology and sociology. Work Cited. Leonard, Marion. Gender in the Music Industry: Rock, Discourse and Girl Power: Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series. Illustrated Edition. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2007. 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